URA tender of Pine Grove plot could net bids of up to S$1,300 psf ppr: observers

THE sale of a government land parcel at Pine Grove could see bids of up to S$1,300 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the residential development, market watchers said Thursday (Feb 24).

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday announced it has put up a residential plot, Pine Grove (Parcel A), for sale by public tender.

The land parcel in the Clementi area, which has a site area of 22,534.7 square metres (sq m), is one of the confirmed land parcels to be released in the first half of 2022 under the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme, the URA said in its press statement.

Commenting on the site tender launch, Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex Realty, said Pine Grove (Parcel A) is likely to attract 7-8 bidders, with the top bid potentially coming in at around S$586 million to S$637 million. 

This would reflect a land rate of S$1,150 to S$1,250 psf ppr, she added.

"We expect the Pine Grove (Parcel A) site to attract developers who are eager to shore up their land inventory. In addition, future homes on the site should appeal to many home buyers given its location within an established residential enclave and proximity to numerous schools, such as Pei Tong Primary School, Henry Park Primary School and School of Science and Technology, Singapore," she said.

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Huttons’ senior director of research, Lee Sze Teck, sees an estimated 5-8 bidders participating in the tender, with estimated land bids ranging from S$1,200 to S$1,300 psf ppr. 

He noted that the last launch in the vicinity was The Trizon in 2009 and that more than 10 years have passed with "potential pent up demand building up for new homes".

Meanwhile, Nicholas Mak, ERA Realty Network's head of research and consultancy department, pencilled in a range of S$950-S$1,050 psf ppr among 6-10 possible bidders, which could make the top bid around S$484 million to S$535 million. 

He noted the "unusual" condition of capping the maximum number of units to be built at 520 could also be an effective way of encouraging developers to build more family-size units with at least 3 bedrooms each, to cater to Housing Development Board owners looking to upgrade. 

The site has a maximum building height of 153 metres based on the Singapore Height Datum and a maximum gross floor area of 47,323 sq m.

Its lease period will be 99 years, the URA added.

URA noted that Pine Grove (Parcel A) is linked to the Ayer Rajah Expressway, Clementi Road and Ulu Pandan Road, with Clementi and Dover MRT stations about 1 km away.

The tender for Pine Grove (Parcel A) will close at 12 pm on Jun 2, 2022. It will be batched together with the residential site at Dunman Road that will be launched in March this year, also a part of the confirmed list of H1 2022 sites under the GLS Programme.

Huttons’ Lee also brought up a neighbouring site, Pine Grove (Parcel B), which is currently on the reserve list, noting the government could potentially shift to the confirmed list for the second half of 2022 if demand and land bids for Parcel A is "deemed strong".

Pine Grove (Parcel B) is adjacent to Parcel A and developers can submit an application to purchase it. 

A site on the reserve list will be put up for sale if a developer's indicated minimum price in the application is acceptable to the government, or if the site has received sufficient market interest by more than one unrelated party with an acceptable minimum price within a reasonable period, said URA. 

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